Mobile communications devices, e.g. mobile (cellular) telephones, for mobile telecommunication systems like GSM UMTS D-AMPS and COMA2000 have been used for many years.
Mobile communications devices, such as mobile, phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs) are today used for many different purposes. Typically, displays are used for output and keypads are used for input, particularly in the case of mobile communications devices, Mobile communications devices were previously used almost exclusively or voice communication with other mobile communications devices or stationary telephones. Gradually, the use of mobile communications devices has been broadened to include not just voice communication, but also various other services and applications such as www/wap browsing, video telephony, electronic messaging (e.g. SMS, MMS, email, instant messaging), digital image or video recording, FM radio, music playback, electronic games, calendar/organizer/time planner, word processing, etc.
For large devices, such as personal computers or laptop computers, large screens and more refined input mechanisms allow for a rich and intuitive user interface. At the same time, there has been a trend towards ever-increasing reduction of the size of mobile communications devices. One issue with user interfaces for small portable electronic devices is that reduction of size may lead to difficulties for entering data into the mobile communications devices. Displays may be small and user input may be limited. For devices with small displays and limited input means it might also be difficult to search and navigate through large quantities of information, particularly through large quantities of images.
Any improvement in the user experience of such devices have an impact on usability and attractiveness.